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Woven
Woven "these lies have been woven too deep." a story by firey for this contest Prologue i hate gray in the world of '' ''nothingness and gray i am left to wander through death and decay At one point of your life, you’ll start to wonder why you’re still here. If you haven’t already, I’ll ask the question for you. Because if you opened your eyes and notice your surroundings, I think you’ll start to realize this is all a lie. The world should not be this shade of gray. If you’re okay with that, alright, keep going with your sad life. I have no intention of letting this world take care of my emotions, to let me feel happy when in reality I should be sad. But look around yourself and if you can decipher black from white from gray, perhaps you have hope. I want to see colors. I want to live. My name? Even my name is just something that represents this blank world. Nobody has a pelt color of other than black, white, and gray. I hate it. Oh right, my name. You really want to know? It’s Snowdapple. My name is Snowdapple and I want to return FlameClan to its old glory. One lend me your voices in a world of gray '' ''i stand all alone i’m out here in the cold please just take me home “Snowdapple, are we going to go hunting or are you going to keep staring at Grayhunter?” My best friend sounds exasperated, “And don't tell me you weren't looking at him because you've been following him with your eyes for five minutes.” “Okay, okay, you’ve caught me,” I roll my eyes as I turn to greet Shadowflame. “How’s your side with Frostwhisker and Whiteshadow?” “Boring as ever,” Shadowflame snorts, “all they do is blabber about the cute toms around the camp.” I let out a snicker and flick my tail. “Let’s go hunting.” “Thought you’d never say that,” the black she-cat nudges me in a friendly manner, “Where do you want to start? Snow-Capped Peaks or the Frosted Valley?” “You love being in the snow don’t you,” I frown at Shadowflame, flicking a snowflake off my already white pelt. My best friend shrugs helplessly, “Would you rather visit the Hollows instead? The one place of FlameClan that isn’t touched by the icy embrace of leaf-bare?” “It seems it’s always leafbare,” I admit, “we rarely never get snow here.” “Tired of it?” Shadowflame teases as we pad out of the camp. Fluffy white snow litters the ground and I avoid them. No need to freeze my paws off before I even reach my location. “Let’s go to the Snow-Capped Peaks.” “You know I hate those Peaks,” I groan, but nevertheless, I follow Shadowflame up the mountain towards one of the most plentiful areas of FlameClan. Shadowflame casts a smirk over her shoulder, “And you know it’s the best place to actually catch prey. Frosted Valley is too cold to even walk in - especially in this weather - and the Hollows-” She gives a shudder, “Let’s not talk about that place.” “Agreed,” I murmur as we trek up the steep slopes. At the top of the monstrous peaks is a flat expanse where the majority of the FlameClan prey remains. “You know what I wonder?” I stop mid-step and frown at the snow falling from the sky. Shadowflame pauses too and glances back at me. “Why are we called FlameClan when the three colors we even ever see are white, black, and gray? Even the prey are those colors! It’s driving me crazy.” “You know that’s how FlameClan has always been,” Shadowflame cautions. I bush out my fur. “That’s a pile of fox-dung! Remember Shadepelt? Remember all the stories he had told us? There are more colors. FlameClan is named after a bright orange substance that is warm but burns you when you draw too close. A contrary object to the world we live in now.” “That was moons ago,” Shadowflame shakes her head, “That world is gone, Snowdapple, if it even existed. This is what we live in now, and we have to accept it.” “No!” I take a few more steps so I’m level with the black she-cat. “Remember the other tales he told us? The ones where cats had a variety of colors? There were cats with orange fur, with brown fur, and some with black, brown, orange and white fur mixed together! What happened to them?” “The cold killed them,” Shadowflame gives me a cold look, “everyone knows that, Snowdapple.” I paw at the snow below my paws angrily, “What about the ending to your name? Flame. If the world was really nothing but white, black, and gray, why would we keep the memory of another vivid substance alive?” “I don’t know,” Shadowflame huffs, “but you need to drop this.” She looks genuinely worried, “You talk about Shadepelt so much but do you remember what happened to him? The High Officials took him away and we never saw him again. Another tom… Hailstorm took his place instead, remember?” I did remember. One day a group of muscular cats bustled in and grabbed Shadepelt without a word. They hauled him away and the next day, a pure white tom had strolled in and said he was Shadepelt’s replacement. In FlameClan, there was always exactly thirty cats in the Clan’s camp. We would survive and whenever someone died, the High Officials would send in another cat. If you were expecting, you would be taken to where the High Officials reside until you kitted. Then you returned with no recollection of what happened. Something was definitely amiss. Before I could ponder over this any more, Shadowflame shoves me towards the top of the peak. “It’s a Hunter!” “A Hunter?” I don’t ask another question as we stumble towards the top of the Snow-Capped Peaks. “Do they ever come this high?” “Look!” Shadowflame squeals as she points towards a shadowy figure below us. “That’s just barely inner FlameClan territory. The High Officials have told us the borders are collapsing in towards us.” “What does that even mean?” I blow snow out of my eyes, “The Hunters patrol the outside of FlameClan territory,” I mutter to myself, “but Snow-Capped Peaks is in the center of FlameClan. How is this even possible?” Shadowflame is quaking in fear next to me. “I know what we have to do,” I straighten my shoulders, “We have to confront that Hunter.” “Why?” Shadowflame stands in a flurry of snow, which showers down dangerously close to the Hunter. “We-” She freezes when the shadowy monster glances up. “Oh no,” she seizes me and drags me even higher, “You’re going to get your wish and we’re going to die.” “Wonderful,” I mutter, “but first I need to figure this out.” “What is there to figure out?” She yelps, “The Hunter is no joke, Snowdapple.” “This is no joke, Shadowflame,” I snort as I begin to clamber down the sides of Snow-Capped Peak. “I know this isn’t how FlameClan started out to be and I’m going to figure out what happened to turn the world as it is now.” I just better hope I survive a fight against this Hunter first. Two are we real i don’t even know if i can feel are we really here are we even real The Hunter is more terrifying close up. A weird sensation washes over me as I draw closer and closer to the beast. I can't make out a face in the shadowy form, and it takes me a long time to realize its heat coming off the monster. Heat...it’s been a long time since we’ve experienced that. A memory from a long time ago haunts me but I’m unable to grasp it. I don’t even know why I know the term “heat”. I skid to a halt, a sudden weird sort of pain filling me. I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to recover my level-headedness. The heat washes over me once more and I open my eyes to see the Hunter looming over me. I let out a tiny squeal of fear and scramble back into Shadowflame. I’m surprised my friend even came down to help me. “What is that thing?” She gasps, her eyes wide with horror. The heat doesn’t seem to affect her. I’ll ask her later, I decide, first, I have to focus on not dying. The Hunter seems to roar except no sound comes out. I’m not even too sure where it’s face is. There are no features except a shadowy form that seems to just hover over the ground. I gape at it for a moment but then it leans forward, passing just over us. “How do we defeat something like that?” Shadowflame asks quietly, almost meekly (which is nothing like my best friend). “I don’t know,” I respond truthfully. The Hunter lands (I guess it’s levitating?) behind us and seems to regard us carefully. I shift on my paws, my eyes following the Hunter wherever it went. I back up slightly, my paw bumping against a tiny stone on the floor. A hissing sound fills the air and Shadowflame screams. “Shadowflame!” I shout, rushing forward to reach my friend’s side. The black she-cat is unharmed, however. Terror fills her eyes and I shake her. “What’s wrong?” The Hunter hasn’t moved, I realize. My friend just frantically shakes her head. I glance where the Hunter hovers over and notice the ground is suddenly scorched brown. Brown! A stiffen at the sudden thought of the...what was it? Color? Yes...color. Brown was a color that fills the world. I glance around me quickly and notice random colors pop out from the old world. I blink and the colors disappear once more, as well as the word I had salvaged from seeing the scorched area beneath the Hunter, which is turning black. The hissing noise, I realize, must have been the Hunter burning something. The snow that had once covered the area near the Hunter has melted. I frown at the sight. We’ve always been warned to stay away from FlameClan’s borders, as the Hunters would kill us on sight. But now that I’ve realized that, how did the High Officials come in and out of FlameClan territory? My thoughts are cut off by the Hunter suddenly rushing towards us. Shadowflame yelps and hops to the side without warning. I duck and roll aside just as the heat hits me. I cough slightly and when I turn back around, the Hunter is right over the rock that I had kicked on accident earlier. Before I could even examine the rock, the Hunter suddenly disappears. My eyes widen in surprise while Shadowflame draws closer to me. “Did that just happen?” She croaks, her pelt bushed up in fear. I don’t reply but approach the rock quietly. Shadowflame stays rooted where she is and I nudge the rock. There’s a hissing noise and the snow begins to melt. I back away quickly but nothing happens. Wherever the Hunter went, it wasn’t coming back. Not now at least. I frown at the rock. If the Hunter could disappear into that rock, then it could easily rise up from the rock. But does it work on its own or does someone control it? Someone like...the High Officials? I shake my head and I lead the way back to camp, Shadowflame trailing after me. Three the dark secrets i want to know what the world has become i want to know where we come from The camp is full of bustling activity. Cats go to and from the dens, chatting with their friends, picking at the prey. I stare at the fresh-kill pile for a moment, nearly convinced that there had been a change of color. Color... I swear I saw something that had a word to it but now it was black, gray, and white once more. I grit my teeth and drop off some of my prey before dragging a gray mouse towards the warriors’ den. Shadowflame drags her paws after me. I peek my head inside and notice it’s empty. When Shadowflame joins me near the back, I hiss. “We can’t tell anyone about what we saw today,” I warn her. She jerks her head in some form of a nod and I settle into my nest with the prey. “Do you want to share?” Shadowflame shakes her head mutely and curls herself tightly in her nest. I frown at my best friend but dismiss it. Surely she was just in shock and she would recover from it soon enough. As I chew on the mouse, I contemplate today’s events. I think about hunting and then for a fleeting moment, I can’t remember what else Shadowflame and I did. Did we only hunt? It’s almost sundown though! We didn’t even catch that must. I mean it was the Snow-Capped Peaks after. No, there’s a gap between heading out to the mountains and coming back. Something that occupied us for quite awhile. I grit my teeth and shake Shadowflame awake. “Shadowflame,” I hiss, “what did we do today?” She blinks at me with bleary amber eyes. “We went hunting at the Snow-Capped Peaks, Snowdapple.” “That’s not all,” I insist, “we did something in between didn’t we?” My friend rests her head back on her paws. “No we didn’t,” she begins to close her eyes once more. I jab her with one paw. “Think harder,” I snarl, “we did something but I can’t remember anymore. Why did I tell you we couldn’t tell anyone about today if we only went hunting?” Shadowflame sits up, a little more alert now. “We were in danger,” she murmurs, “weren’t we?” I regulate my breathing. “I don’t know,” I furrow my brow, “tomorrow I’m heading out there again and I’m going to see if I can remember what we did.” Shadowflame nods. “Will you come with?” “Of course, Snowdapple,” she gives a tiny purr, “that’s what best friends are for.” I curl up in my own nest, trying to see if my dreams will bring back memories of this morning. ~ “Snowdapple,” a hiss comes from the dark, “wake up.” I jerk awake and Shadowflame’s amber eyes peer down at me. “What is it?” I grumble, sitting up and rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, “it’s dark out there, Shadowflame, it’s not even dawn.” “I just remembered,” Shadowflame’s eyes are bright, “Hunters.” “Hunters?” I eye her suspiciously, “They’re at the border, Shadowflame.” Suddenly pain flares in my head and I groan, sinking back into my nest. Shadowflame is instantly by my side. “That happened to me too,” she informs me, “but when the pain went away suddenly everything came back.” She is right. As the pain fades, memories come flooding back. “We have to go now,” Shadowflame urges, “or else we’re not going to be able to recall these memories. I have a feeling we’ve had these feelings before but we’ve never tried to think about them this hard. It probably didn’t happen in this way, with the Hunter actually encountering us.” I stand and together, we tiptoe around the other warriors and head outside. We slip past the guard with ease, despite my white fur. Shadowflame blends in with the shadows and I try to keep track of her as we head to where we had encountered the Hunter yesterday. Heat washes over me and suddenly a shadow looms over me. I let out a half-scream, startled. “Shadowflame?” “Right here,” a muffled voice calls ahead of me, “I think we’re here.” “No, I think I found the Hunter.” Shadowflame cautiously pads towards me and yelps with the heat sears her fur. “Do they just come out at night?” She frowns, “Where’s that rock it disappeared into last time?” The Hunter makes a hissing noise as it travels over the snow, melting it. It points one shadowy tendril towards the tiny rock lying on the floor. When I approach it, the Hunter dives in front of me, blocking my path. “Protective aren’t you?” I frown, “I guess whoever has those rocks control them?” Sudden pawsteps causes me to freeze. Shadowflame exchanges panicked glances with me. “Up a tree,” I hiss. Together, we scramble up and stay as still as we can just as two cats pass under us. “Ah, there’s the Hunter that’s causing troubles,” a deep voice rumbles, “tell is to go back in its rock and move it back to where it belongs.” “I wonder how it managed to move like that,” another cat muses, “we’ve never had this problem before.” “No we did,” the older cat growls, “many moons ago before you were born. The Hunters are attracted to free spirits. They follow them and that’s how the escapees end up dying because the Hunters just want to be near them and the cats panick. In the end the Hunter catches them and burns them alive.” “So you’re saying…” “Indeed. A free spirit or two are in FlameClan. We must stop them immediately. Is Sootstar prepared with his results? He already didn’t give us a report last moon. We cannot let him go this moon if he still cannot report who the free spirit is.” “All of them are incompetent,” the younger cat snorts, “especially the leaders. They’ll never catch the spirits themselves. We’ll have to investigate.” “Send Archie and if he must, take Sootstar back to Headquarters. Place him with the others if you must. But make sure you dig out the reports first. We need to figure out these free spirits and fast.” “Yes, sir.” “And move that Hunter back where it belongs. We can’t have it scaring the cats and scarring the Block.” When the High Officials left, Shadowflame and I exchange looks. “We have to remember this,” my best friend whispers, “if we forget this FlameClan will be doomed forever.” Four the witnesses you can tell us this is none of our business but we are the witnesses We spend the next few days meeting secretly on hunts and reviewing what we had learned over the past week. The Hunter, the revelation of the Block, and of course the High Officials’ conversation. True to their word, a pure black tom strolls into FlameClan’s camp. “I am looking for Sootstar,” he proclaims, “where is he?” The FlameClan leader takes one look at Archie - I would assume it is him - and takes off. The High Official races after him immediately. The camp is thrown into chaos. “Come on,” Shadowflame tugs me with her. We follow Archie and Sootstar out without anyone noticing. Their pounding makes it easy for us to trace them and keep a distance away. We slow when we hear Sootstar’s yowl of fury and the skid of pawsteps. We clamber up a tree and stay there. Sootstar is pinned down by Archie. I’m surprised the smaller tom can hold down Sootstar but our leader seemed to have the fight drained out of him. “What do you want?” Sootstar hisses. Archie’s electric blue eyes are full of venom. “Your reports.” Shadowflame and I exchange glances. It’s the second time we’ve heard of the reports. They must be a way for the High Officials to keep track of the Clan without actually having spies in the camp.” Spies. The word chill me to the bone. A sudden memory of a dark gray tom with leaf-green eyes confessing his crimes to Sootstar flies into my mind before it disappears. I grasp for it desperately but the Block must have erased it once more. I gaze down at Sootstar. Had our previous leaders been spies for the High Officials? In a way, our leaders would become the High Officials’ spies. Sootstar looks reproachful. “The reports are always the same,” he hisses, “none of my cats are disobedient.” “Liar,” Archie sneers, “a Hunter-” The black tom snaps his mouth shut before saying anymore. Sootstar struggles under Archie’s claws. “A Hunter you say? Why was I not informed of this?” “You haven’t been giving in your reports,” Archie digs his claws deeper into Sootstar’s neck. “Do you know what we do to leaders or members who do not obey us?” “I think I’m going to find out,” Sootstar sneers. Archie glowers at him. “If you me the reports, perhaps Zarr will allow you to live.” Sootstar doesn’t even consider this option. “I will not turn in my cats to you even if there are rebels. All of them are innocent and your Blocks support that.” Archie steps back in shock. “How do you know about that?” His blue eyes are with with shock. “Zarr was right,” he snarls, “you are investigating the Block. Are you the one who moved the Hunter in?” Sootstar’s eyes are kept carefully blank. “I don’t know of a Hunter,” he reminds Archie, “you mentioned it before but I don’t know the details. If you are looking for a free spirit, you can take me, but there are no more spoils in the Clan.” “Zarr will be the decider of that.” Archie hauls Sootstar up. “And mind you, your cavalier attitude towards our rule will be the death of you, so I’d watch it.” Shadowflame and I watch in shock as Archie just takes Sootstar away. “We should follow him!” Shadowflame exclaims once he’s out of earshot, “We can figure out where their Headquarters are and save Sootstar!” Her amber eyes - why has eye color never been a problem to me? - are shining brightly. “I don’t think that’d be smart-” I begin to say, but Shadowflame has shot down the tree and is after Archie and Sootstar. I follow reluctantly. I can’t just let my best friend wander into strange territory by herself. We trail the two quietly until Shadowflame hisses with disgust. “What is it?” I catch up, my eyes adjusting to the darkness. “The Hunters. We can’t get through because the Hunters are all gathered here. I don’t know how Archie got through though.” “The rocks,” I peer into the darkness, “the High Officials must have some way to send the Hunters back into their rocks like we saw those two do a few days ago.” Shadowflame curses but we head back to camp. “Do you think anything will happen to Sootstar?” She murmurs quietly, her fear radiating from her in waves. “I don’t know,” I admit. Before she can reply, someone strolls in. He has a wave of shocking golden fur. The color jumps out at me instantly. The Block doesn’t take away this color. I think, as the color sticks. The other cats gape at the magnificent shade of yellow we hadn’t seen in such a long time. “I am Zarr.” Shadowflame just barely manages to stifle a gasp. “Your leader has unfortunately died a terrible death. I cannot tell you how, as it will be too mortifying. I will replace him as your leader until I find a more suitable replacement.” Memories flood up at me and I realize Zarr has done this many times. He brainwashes the FlameClan cats into seeing him as a wondrous savior (more due to his pelt color than what he does) and he will root out the free spirits easily. “Pretend to adore him,” I hiss at Shadowflame, “he’s looking for us.” We change our looks of slight horror to adoration. Zarr looks pleased as his eyes search the crowd, then slightly disappointment at not finding anything. His next words shake me too the core. “However, there are witnesses of Sootstar’s death here in the crowd. No, not exactly witnesses, more like…” His amber eyes are malevolent. “...murderers.” Five the slaughter we are drowning under the water but the thickness of this blood is due to the slaughter For a long time, I don’t know what to do. Zarr’s eyes are scanning the areas once more and I stand there, paralyzed. It’s not until Shadowflame jabs me with one paw that I keep a shocked, terrified expression of a victim on my face, instead of being the murderer. (Do I really count as a murderer?) Zarr finally speaks once more. “From now on, you will be divided into factions. Each faction will have separate squads and a squad leader of my choice. You will respect your squad leader and the leaders will report to me every day.” Shadowflame and I exchange mortified looks. These restrictions are made to root out the “free spirits” and sooner or later, Shadowflame and I are going to get caught. Zarr begins to call out names. Shadowflame goes to a hunting squad and so do I. When Zarr is done dividing the Clan, he gives out one more rule. “You will remain in your squads and interactions between squads are not approved unless in ‘rest time’ which happens once a day during sundown.” I try not to look at my best friend. The less interaction I have with her, the less Zarr and the High Officials will suspect us. Hopefully the suspicion will die down and we can go back to our investigation of this mystery surrounding FlameClan. ~ Only a few days has passed when Shadowflame tugs me aside during our rest period and demands to talk to me. “Zarr just rounded up five cats and is about to publicly execute them.” “Excuse me?” Shadowflame’s eyes are frantic. “What if he catches us-?” “He won’t,” I say grimly, “we’ve done nothing wrong. Just stay calm and when this blows over, we can truly uncover the truth of FlameClan.” When she remains tense, I run my tail along her back, “We’ll solve this.” She slowly begins to relax and Zarr calls out. “Cats of FlameClan, please return to your squad group. I have terrible news.” I linger at Shadowflame’s side before heading to Goldenrose’s side. The squad leader has a hard look in her eye and I see the five cats who had been rounded up. Their fur is ragged and already, they look haggard and haunted. Zarr must have tried to force information out of them before this execution. One of them is my squad member and Goldenrose’s mate, Aspenfall. How could she be so unfeeling? I watch as the other cats gather and some gasp in horror when they see the condemned circle of cats. High Officials - when did they get here? - pin down the five cats. Zarr has a gleam in his eyes. “As you can all see, these five cats are to be executed for their crimes. What crimes? They are trying to destroy FlameClan.” Murmurs ripple through the crowd and Zarr shouts. “Silence! Hunters are edging closer and closer from the borders and here you are, complaining about your glorious new leader trying to save your lives?” As if on cue, a Hunter looms near the top of the camp, causing screams to erupt from the cats. “Seize it!” Zarr yowls and the High Officials surge out of camp. One of the condemned try to free themselves and make a run for it but Zarr pins him down. “Look at this criminal!” He calls out, “He dares to try to escape! He is guilty and he knows it!” While the crowd’s eyes are glued to the five prisoners, Zarr delicately lifts a sharp claw and slices the tom’s neck open. Blood spurts from the open wound and the golden tom steps to the next prisoner. One by one, he kills them all. The horror and shock is practically tangible. We stare at the bodies of the cats we once knew. Zarr glares over us. “If any of your dare to defy your leader’s rule, I will kill you myself with my own claws.” He spins on his heel and stalks into Sootstar’s den. When we don’t move, the High Officials round us up and order us into our dens. I try not to think about what might happen if Shadowflame and I refuse to follow Zarr’s rule. Will he back down when he can’t find us or will he search for our spirits until he kills the entire Clan? I’m not sure if I want to stay to find out. ~ Several weeks pass before the next demonstration happens. Zarr has picked another five cats for slaughter. I notice he takes the cats that show the least resistance. Why take them when they’ve nothing but obey his orders? We can only watch as he performs the same ceremony and slaughters them all. It takes another of these slaughters before Zarr calls out, “I know you’re out there, you free spirit. If you don’t show yourself, I’ll continue to take prisoners and kill them. I will find you. Will you save these lives instead?” I can’t move. Shadowflame desperately glances at me and I can’t bring myself to do anything. But before Shadowflame can do anything, a light gray she-cat by the name of Sagefrost steps forward. “Don’t murder these innocent cats anymore,” she says softly, “take me.” I gape at her bravery. It makes me wonder if given the choice, would I be willing to sacrifice myself? The answer is no. I feel guilty for thinking it but I can’t bring myself to contradict Sagefrost and admit that I’m the one who spotted Zarr and the other tom. I’m the one who followed Archie and figured out what happened to Sootstar. Sootstar wasn’t protecting Sagefrost; he was protecting me. Shadowflame must be thinking the same thing because her alarmed eyes are searching the camp as if for a way out. I have to try to get her on the side so we can discuss our next move. There’s no way we can go on like this. Zarr eyes Sagefrost coolly. “You?” He laughs, “You want to take full responsibility of all the Hunters moving closer and closer.” “Yes.” His eyes turn into an even more vivid color. I notice the longer the High Officials are here, the more color we see. And it’s not fading either. The Block is being worn down by the complications of the High Officials. They aren’t made to be as simplicit like FlameClan has been shaped to be. Zarr sneers down at Sagefrost and cruelly waves his tail. “I’ll have lots of fun with you.” The High Officials take her away. The rest of us cats watch in silence. Zarr’s orange eyes flash across the crowd and land on Shadowflame. “I’ll be watching for any more free spirits,” he gives a cruel grin at my best friend. Even after the cats disperse and head to due their normal duties, I still stand there, shocked by the events. We can’t let Zarr win... Six the escape we will disappear into the landscape we will make our escape It’s three more days before I confront Shadowflame and together, we formulate a plan for us to escape and try to find other means to defeat Zarr and restore FlameClan to its original glory. “Though I’m terrified of the Block returning,” I bite my lip nervously, “Obviously the High Officials are the reason why we seem to be able to remember everything they’ve been keeping from us. If we leave the camp, does that mean we won’t remember any of this?” Shadowflame shakes her head grimly. “That won’t happen,” she sounds convinced, “remember before they came? We remembered the events because we told each other about them every day. We’ll just have to do that to refresh our memory. The more we’re exposed to something, the more we’ll remember.” “Alright,” I relent, “we’ll leave tonight.” Shadowflame nods tersely and heads back towards her squad. As I crouch over a crow, I try to calm my nerves. After tonight, we’ll be free. I’m not sure how we’ll save FlameClan but one event at a time. ~ Night falls and Shadowflame and I meet at our arranged part of the camp. High Officials are roaming the entire camp and outside, so it’ll be hard to escape. Shadowflame jerks her head towards the tiny gap in the wall that we’ve snuck out before. I follow quickly and as we duck out of camp, I try not to rustle the ferns. The High Officials continue to move on like nothing has happened and Shadowflame peeks her head outside. “No one,” she breathes out and suddenly darts away. I try to follow but the sound of pawsteps alert me to draw back into the ferns. A High Officials races past and I hold my breath. Did he catch Shadowflame? But her orange eyes pop out from the bush in front of me and she waves her tail at me to hurry. When the road is clear, I dart outside and join her. “I thought they caught you,” I breathe out. “Silly, I thought they caught you.” More pawsteps fill the night air and we freeze. High Officials sniff the ground. “Escapees,” he grunts, “scour the territory.” “Perhaps we should let them go? They’ll forget and come back anyways.” The first High Officials frowns, “Very true but the free spirits that Zarr wants have evaded him for too long. Normal free spirits don’t remember why they want to get out and would slip easily with the Block erected in their minds. These free spirits are...different. Now move out.” “Yes, Brink.” The squad of High Officials split in all directions. Fear courses through me and Shadowflame nudges me forward. “We have to go,” she murmurs, “they’ll catch us here.” I don’t ask how we’ll escape but just blindly follow her. As we stumble through the territory, we try to hide from the High Officials running around. They’re everywhere. By some miracle, we make it to the border. Shadowflame is trembling and I can’t think straight. There’s a line of Hunters but right in the center, there’s an opening. I nudge my best friend and she takes a tentative step forward. The closer we get, the more open the opening is. I gape at it but Shadowflame lunges through and I follow hurriedly. The moment we pass, the Hunters close the gap once more. “I wonder if we can get back in,” I frown. At my words, the Hunters open up once more momentarily before closing the gap. My eyes widen in shock and Shadowflame lets out a gasp of wonder. “They’re obeying our orders,” she murmurs. The snow around the border has all melted and the land outside of FlameClan territory. “It’s actually green-leaf out here,” Shadowflame spins in a slow circle, admiring the lands around them. Before I can reply, the Hunters hiss in anger and I drag Shadowflame behind a throng of bushes just as the Hunters move aside and the High Officials parade out. To my surprise, Zarr is shoving them outside and he says something inaudible before the Hunters lunge for the High Officials. They’re the same cats who had been chasing us. The Officials scream as the Hunters’ heat touches them. The pain must be searing, I think sickly. When the job is done, the Hunters glower at Zarr and the leader walks back into FlameClan. I can only stare in shock at the charred remains of the High Officials. Shadowflame looks sick. “They failed so Zarr killed them.” Sudden pain fills my head and all the memories come flowing back. Life before this sort of FlameClan, when we went to war against the High Officials and Zarr’s regime. The Hunters lining the borders and going to sleep and waking up to be utterly confused on our identity other than FlameClan has always been like this. Shadowflame groans. “What was that?” I only shake my head mutely, “The Block must only be in effect in the territory. The Hunters mark the end of the Block. The Hunters are the Block. That’s what Zarr doesn’t want the free spirits to attract the Hunters closer. It lets them out and then we can disrupt Zarr’s plans.” My best friend meets my gaze. “So what can we do now though?” “Win the battle we lost so many moons ago,” I straighten my back and gaze at the foreign lands, “there must be other cats out here who can help us, who have escaped Zarr. We can’t be the first.” Seven the rebellion we want to rebel we want to be free we’ll rise from the ground from the debris I was right. We found a small, ragged band of survivors who claimed to be from FlameClan. From my recovering memory, I remembered some of them too. Shadowflame was ecstatic. “Zarr is back in FlameClan?” A lean, light gray tom narrows his eyes, “Thought I’d see the last of him in FlameClan since I left.” “Why?” I tip my head, “He seems to do it a lot from what my memory says.” The gray tom, who had introduced himself as Stormwhisker shook out his long fur. “He caught me red-handed trying to tell Blazestar - the leader at the time - the truth about Zarr and the High Officials. He tried to kill me and I was terribly wounded before Petalbreeze here found me and helped me here.” I spot the long gash along his flank and frown at it. There’s no question how slim his chances of surviving had been. “So killing you made him not want to check on FlameClan anymore?” I blink, “I don’t really see the connection.” “Stormwhisker had all the information,” Petalbreeze explains, “so when Zarr ‘killed’ him, the leaders were fully placed under Zarr’s control. He shouldn’t have had to worry about anyone thwarting his plans. But we’ve been planting spies and trying to help FlameClan break free.” Their third and last member, a pure white tom named Whiteshadow, bares his teeth. “So far Zarr’s been catching each and every one of them except you two.” Shadowflame is eyeing Petalbreeze. “Your pelt,” she points out, “it’s pale orange. That’s not a color of any FlameClan cat in Zarr’s region. You didn’t grow up in FlameClan did you?” Petalbreeze shakes her head, “I’m a Discard. Zarr takes the expecting she-cats and when they give birth to a cat that isn’t white, gray, or black, Zarr takes them and discards them. It’s terrible out there, how the Discards are being treated. After FlameClan is freed, I’m going to save all the Discards.” I shudder at the terrifying thought. “Zarr needs to be defeated,” I conclude, “he’s trying to ruin the lives of too many cats.” Shadowflame gives a nod and Whiteshadow unsheathes his claws, “We were going to attack tonight. It seems the two of you have come just in time.” Stormwhisker’s eyes are filled with malice. “Zarr will go down tonight.” Unease ripples through me but I nod. Tonight it’ll end either in our favor or in theirs... ~ Shadowflame is shaking. “Do you think this will work?” We’re crouched just on the edge of FlameClan territory, close to the Hunters. We haven’t crossed back in yet, but we’re supposed to be inside already. “You know the others will do most of it,” I remind her, “they’re going to control the Hunters and have them attack.” When Shadowflame doesn’t reply, I nudge her, “We need to step inside before it’s too late.” I step out into the open and the Hunters hiss before revealing a path back into FlameClan. My heart crawls into my throat and I hurry inside. Shadowflame follows. We notice the change immediately. Color bleeds from the trees and this time, they don’t fade away. “Stepping outside of the territory removes the Block,” Stormwhisker’s husky voice sounds in my ear, “but stepping back inside will reconstruct it if you stay long enough.” I jump. The gray tom is glaring at me. “You two are supposed to be at your stations already,” he mutters, “what are you doing here?” “We couldn’t get in,” I lie, “the Hunters took awhile.” Stormwhisker glances behind me and curses. “They aren’t closing up. Petalbreeze should have gotten the Hunters’ Gem.” I don’t understand what he’s talking about, but he just pushes me towards the camp. “Hurry and get to your post.” He takes off before I can protest. Shadowflame shrugs and starts towards the camp. I follow reluctantly. We see Whiteshadow immediately. He shines in contrast to the dark setting of the night. “Hurry,” the white tom grunts, “Petalbreeze is about to set the Hunters off.” I scurry to my place just as a blast of heat hits me. I barely make it into the alcove area before a Hunter passes overhead. Shadowflame is gone from my sight. I hope she’s okay. As soon as the Hunter is gone, Whiteshadow pops out of his hiding spot and rushes for the camp. I inhale sharply before following. The whole territory is swarming with Hunters. I lunge for the entrance, trying not to get burnt. Shadowflame is ahead of me already, yowling at someone else. Zarr’s orange pelt flashes in front of my eyes and I scream before throwing my paws in front of me. His claws slash through my paw and I roll to the side. “Foolish,” Zarr snarls, “thinking you can take back FlameClan.” He doesn’t know me personally. He just knows I’m part of the rebel group that is attacking. If I know the Block, Zarr will have erased Shadowflame and I from the Clan’s mind so they will think we are the enemies. “Even with all the Hunters on your side, you will never win,” Zarr sneers. “I will not allow it.” I don’t reply but I knock the orange tom backwards and pin him down. His eyes are wide with shock but he bares his teeth, “As if you have the guts to kill me. All of you are tied to me by a bond. If you kill me, you destroy FlameClan completely.” I stare into his cruel eyes. “The Discards will do their job then.” Suddenly everything goes silent. The entire camp is staring down at me and Zarr. The fearsome tom glares up at me balefully. “As if the Discards are of any use,” he snorts. Petalbreeze stands next to me, her eyes blazing. “I will lead them,” she says solemnly, “the Discards will rebuild FlameClan.” “Even at the cost of all these cats?” Zarr retorts. Some of the cats gasp in horror but many are leaning forward, wanting to hear the rest. “Even at the cost,” I say softly, “because FlameClan’s glory must be restored.” Some form of doubt flickers in Zarr’s eyes. There’s something he’s hiding from me. But I can’t afford to wait; I can’t let him escape. Shadowflame presses her pelt against mine. “Do it,” she whispers, “we must restore FlameClan.” I nod and without breaking eye contact, I tell Zarr. “I’m not afraid to die. If it’ll stop you then I’ll die. I’m sure everyone in this camp feels the same.” Shouts of approval rings from the cats I knew as my Clanmates. I slash my claws down. Epilogue rebirth it’s time to go back it’s time to reverse it’s time for a new age it’s time for a rebirth The pain was extraordinary. I can tell you that much. How bad was it? Well fire was coursing through my body and all I could think about was Zarr was dead and FlameClan would be restored to its full glory, even with the expense of many cats’ lives. It seemed to last for an eternity, floating at the edge of space, with my eyes heavy and the fire raging within me. But then I woke up. Shadowflame was next to me and I realized we were still in FlameClan’s camp. Except there was no snow and everything was lush and green. Colors I didn’t know about until I left FlameClan the first time. Stormwhisker and the others were there too. Petalbreeze became Petalstar and she had led the Clan for five full moons before we came back. Well I’m not sure how we came back, but we were reborn. The Clan is prospering now and I was happy to see everyone else return too. I didn’t end up sacrificing them without their approval (though most had agreed with me that it was the right thing to do). FlameClan has its colors once more and all these woven lies are long gone. You wanted my name again? My name is Snowdapple and I returned FlameClan to its full glory. THE END. Category:Fan Fictions Category:Cchen3's Fanfics